(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packaging devices, and more particularly to an apparatus for depositing coupons, and the like on a carton.
(2) Discussion of the Prior Art
The terms coupons and cartons used herein are to be understood in their generic sense. That is, coupon could be certificates, stamps, labels and the like, and cartons could be packages, boxes, containers, bundles and the like.
Coupons are used on cartons in many industries. They are used, for example, to identify the contents of a carton, the condition of the contents of a carton, the destination of a carton, and instructions for the use or assembly of the contents of a carton.
In high production operations, the placing of a coupon on a carton can be time consuming and slow up the entire manufacturing process. Furthermore, the placing of a coupon on a carton is often done manually, which not only contributes to slowing up a high volume production process, but is also a waste of expensive manpower. Quality control is also adversely affected by manually placing coupons on a package because it is obviously a tedious task and one's attention is, therefore, easily diverted.
The problem, briefly stated, is to rapidly place coupons on cartons in a high volume manufacturing operation so as not to slow the maufacturing process, and accomplish this task while making sure that the proper number of coupons are placed in the proper location and orientation on each carton with a minimum of human supervision.